Newswise — In honor of the centennial celebration of the Neurological Institute of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia (NYP/CUMC), a daylong neuroscience symposium and gala dinner is being held on Fri., Sept. 25, 2009. Many of the world’s top neuroscientists and neurologists— including two winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine — will discuss some of the most common neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, and brain tumors. For the symposium agenda and additional information please visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/neurology/about/symposium.html.
“The Neurological Institute is more than just a building – it is important to our medical center because of its stellar faculty who educate the next generation of neurologists and neurosurgeons, and who continue to lead developments in addressing some of the most devastating neurological diseases that affect our population,” said Lee Goldman, M.D., executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences of Columbia University and dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “We are very proud of the accomplishments of our Neurological Institute faculty and congratulate them on this significant anniversary.”
“As we celebrate this major milestone, we reflect on a century of progress in treating neurological disorders. Many important advances were made right here at the Neurological Institute by its team of outstanding physician-scientists, nurses and clinical specialists,” said Herbert Pardes, M.D., president and CEO, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. “Their contributions are a testament to the power of academic medicine, where innovations in diagnosis, treatment and prevention provide an immediate and direct benefit to patients.”
The Neurological Institute (NI) of New York was established in 1909 as the first specialty hospital in the United States devoted entirely to the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system. For 100 years, the Institute has been an internationally recognized center for the treatment of brain disorders. Columbia faculty from the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the divisions of Pediatric Neurology, Neuropathology, and Neuroradiology comprise the Institute’s members. These faculty, who have clinical appointments at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center or NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, are among the most renowned physician-researchers in neuroscience in the world, and their research has aided in the development of highly innovative treatment and surgical options. The NI has a proud tradition of training academic leaders and practitioners of neurology, and graduates of its educational programs can be found in medical centers throughout North America and around the world.
“This centennial is a proud moment for our entire department; it is an opportunity to honor our legacy of innovation and achievements in neurology, and to plan the future of neurology at Columbia. We recommit to our three-part mission of educating the next generation of neurologists, of providing effective and compassionate patient care, and of conducting innovative research,” said Timothy A. Pedley, M.D., Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Neurology, chairman of the Department of Neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S), and neurologist-in-chief at the Neurological Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center (NYP/CUMC).
“We are very proud of our Department’s legacy in the Neurological Institute, and to share in the commemoration of its founding,” said Robert A. Solomon, M.D., the Byron Stookey Professor of Neurosurgery and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at P&S and neurosurgeon-in-chief at NYP/CUMC. “Many of the surgical techniques that we perform were developed here in the NI, and we will continue to strive to develop improved methods to ease the suffering of neurological diseases through advanced surgical techniques.”
Proud Legacy of Achievements in Neuroscience from Neurological Institute Faculty
The Neurological Institute faculty members have led new eras in neuroscience, developing groundbreaking treatments and surgical techniques. Accomplishments have included:
• Identification of a second gene believed to play a role in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease• First-ever observation of neurogenesis within a living brain• First use of dilantin to treat epilepsy• First successful removal of a herniated intervertebral disc• First use of radiation on an open wound• First laboratory for basic neuroscience research• First training program in neuroradiology• First use of an operating microscope in neurosurgery• First training program in child neurology• Development of an embolization treatment for malformations of blood vessels in the brain• Received the first NIH training grant• Identification of gene mutation that increases the risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before the age of 50• Benefits of eating a Mediterranean-type diet and regular exercise to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and to reduce Alzheimer’s mortality• Benefits of Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT), a computer-based rehabilitative treatment, to help stroke or traumatic brain injury survivors recover lost vision• Benefits of a hemophilia therapy to treat patients with hemorrhagic stroke• Advances in the treatment of minimally conscious patients• Use of hypothermia in stroke treatment and neurological surgeries• Evidence of the benefits of a cognitive reserve in the brain to stave off age-related memory decline and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s or to lessen its severity• The seminal neurological textbook, Merritt's Textbook of Neurology by H. Houston Merritt, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurology from 1948 to 1967 (he was also dean of P&S from 1958 to 1969). First published in 1955, today the textbook is in its 11th edition. Its current editor is Lewis P. Rowland, M.D., chair of the neurology department for 25 years (1973-1998).
History of The Neurological Institute at CUMC and NYP/CUMC
The Neurological Institute was founded by a group of New York City neurologists including: Joseph Collins (chair of neurology at Columbia from 1909-1919), Joseph Fraenkel, Pearce Bailey, and Charles Elsberg (chair of neurosurgery from 1909-1937). Incorporated in 1909, the Neurological Institute of New York was located originally in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
In 1921, Columbia University began sending medical students to the Institute. In 1925, the Neurological Institute and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, as it was then known, joined forces. The site of Columbia University Medical Center, with the associated Neurological Institute, was moved to Upper Manhattan in the Washington Heights neighborhood, where it remains today. The current Neurological Institute building, located at 710 W. 168th St., was completed in 1929.
For additional information about:
The founding of NI, please visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/neurology/about/about-ni.html.
The history of NI and its importance to the Department of Neurology, please visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/neurology/about/history.html.
For a timeline of key events — including many firsts in the field — for the Department of Neurology, please visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/neurology/about/timeline.html.
NI’s history and its importance to the Department of Neurological Surgery, please visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/nsg/history.html
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia’s College of Physicians & Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree. Among the most selective medical schools in the country, the school is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York State and one of the largest in the country. For more information, please visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation’s largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,242 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 230,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the largest and most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation’s leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.
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